Top Tier Gasoline

I just read an article in an automotive magazine and it recommended "Top Tier Gasoline" to keep your engine clean (more detergents). Toyota also recommends it according to their web site (www.toptiergas.com). I usually use Gulf out of convenience but it is not listed as a top tier gasoline. Exxon and Mobile are and I could easily use one of these instead. Does anyone have an opinion on this? Does it really matter?

 

Propaganda? Why would GM want to promote certain brands of gas?

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Sounds like a load of junk to me.

 

indeed!

 

I just use this stuff

 

Not different grades of gas but different brands. I believe different companies use different detergents and those can be beneficial, now the real question is how beneficial?

 

Gasoline is gasoline, top tier may have a bit more additives to it. Personally I go for the cheapest gas except for Citgo, I refuse to give a penny to Chavez.

 

For the last time, higher octane rating means a harder to ignite fuel....You know, so the engine doesn't "diesel"... That's why piston airplanes run on it. The premium label used to mean that it had more additive in it AND higher octane-rated so that it was appropriate for premium car engines like high-compression and/or force induction cars.

Now most companies sell gas with the same amount of additive in all the grades. Top tier or other...

Top tier gas usually has a premium additive in it like Techron and it is a very good gasoline because it is manufactured with strict standards.

 

Op is strictly asking about top tier brands and not higher grade

 

Not likely.

 

This.

If the uneducated truly knew the difference between octanes they'd realize how much money they were wasting.

 

... how do you want your water bottled? Makes all the difference in the world right?

 

Not octane, this has nothing to do with octanes... Read the OP, he wants to know about the additives that different brand gas companies use.

Not sure why reading is so difficult

 

exactly-which is why I personally only use 91-so my truck can use all its power by not having to back off the timing to compensate for knock. I won't use anything else but Chevron or 76 here

 

Thank you Burgman. This is not about octane. I only use regular 87 octane, premium offers no advantages and can sometimes be detrimental. I am just wondering if the brands listed in the Top Tier website are better because of more detergents. They claim to have them in all grades of gas.

 

Not true at all. When you run 87 your knock sensors tell the ECU to retard the timing to prevent knock. You're losing power.

 

Only if the knock sensors detect knock.

If the owner's manual does not recommend premium, it is a waste of money.
If you are encountering knock on an engine spec'd for regular, you have a mechanical problem... cam or ignition timing, a hot valve, etc...

 

Bingo!


And fwiw, I've always used either shell or exxon and never had any issues w/ my motors.

 

Sorry Frank, but the OP and Rich are absolutely correct. You are wasting money by putting higher octane into an engine which was designed to run on 87. It is only in the instance of running lower octane in an engine designed for higher octane that you lose power. In a nutshell, this is why:

Many high-performance engines are designed to operate with a high maximum compression, and thus demand fuels of higher octane. A common misconception is that power output or fuel efficiency can be improved by burning fuel of higher octane than that specified by the engine manufacturer. The power output of an engine depends in part on the energy density of the fuel being burnt. Fuels of different octane ratings may have similar densities, but because switching to a higher octane fuel does not add more hydrocarbon content or oxygen, the engine cannot develop more power.

Conversely, burning fuel with a lower octane rating than that for which the engine is designed often results in a reduction of power output and efficiency. Most modern engines are equipped with a knock sensor (which is a small piezoelectric microphone), which sends a signal to the engine control unit, which in turn retards the ignition timing when detonation is detected. Retarding the ignition timing reduces the tendency of the fuel-air mixture to detonate, but also reduces power output and fuel efficiency. Because of this, under conditions of high load and high temperature, a given engine may have a more consistent power output with a higher octane fuel, as such fuels are less prone to detonation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating

 

Wife has 120k on her '04 Rav4, fed a steady diet of Sam's Club ethanol-laden crap.

Smogged it last December and the levels were so low that I think the air coming out of that pipe is cleaner than the Los Angeles air going into the intake!

Personally, I run Chevron 87.